Love Found and Lost
by nhanson39
Summary: Aragorn and Legolas go on a trip together. Legolas wants to confess his love of Aragorn to the Human, but something happens. You'll have to read to find out what it is. Please review. This is my first fanfic! rated for later chapters. FINISHED!
1. Sweet Dreams

Sweet Dreams

Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Lord of the Rings nor it's characters. The late, great J. R. R. Tolkein owns them.

Aragorn lies in his bed, in a wonderful dream.

///Aragorn is sitting at his desk in his bedroom, writing a letter to Celeborn about the growing orc problem. Unknown to him, Arwen is standing in the doorway in a satin, almost see-through, dress. She stands there, one arm supporting her as she leans against the doorframe, watching her husband as his brow creases as he continues to write. A small smile creeps to the corners of her lips and a giggle escapes her lips. Aragorn, for the first time in hours, took his eyes off the letter to turn his eyes to his wife. She moves over to the back of his chair and begins to rub his shoulders. "You have been working too hard", Arwen almost whispers. Aragorn puts down his quill and leans into the message and sighs deeply, "I know", he replies, "but this is important." Arwen leans in close to his ear and whispers, "I could make you forget about it." She moves over to the bed and lies down on top of the covers. Aragorn tries to get back to writing his letter, but is too distracted by his beautiful wife to concentrate. He sighs and walks over to the foot of the bed. "So how do you think you are going to make me forget?" Arwen grabs him by his collar and pulls him onto the bed. "You will soon see, love", she replies. Arwen pulls him into a kiss. ///

Legolas walks down the hall towards Aragorn's room. This was to be their first trip together, alone. Just the two of them, no one else around. Finally he would be able to tell him how he had felt about the Man; how he has lusted over him since he first laid eyes on him. He stops in front of Aragorn's bedroom door. He gets ready to knock when he hears a dreamy voice say "Arwen". Legolas leans his Elvish ears closer to the door. He opens the door slowly and peeks his head in. Once he completely opens the door and silently creeps in, he almost busts into laughter. 

Aragorn is cradling a pillow close to him. He has a goofy grin plastered on his face. Occasionally he would mutter, "Arwen", and stroke his cheek on the pillow.

The Elf almost unsuccessfully stifles a chuckle. He almost glides to the bed and puts his hands the edge of the bed. He kneels on the floor and leans into the Ranger's ear. "Aragorn", he sweetly whispers. Aragorn shifts a bit, but did not wake. He tries it again, "Aragorn". This time the Ranger grabs his left hand and begins to pet it, "oh, Arwen." For the first time in his long life, Legolas was caught off-guard. His eyes widened a bit, but he quickly started to like it. "I could grow fond of this", he thought to himself. After he though it was enough, he pulled his arm out of the human's grasp. Aragorn whimpers and blindly searches for the hand.

Legolas backs up and puts his hands on his hip. "Get up Ranger!", he bellows. Aragorn wakes up, but falls out of bed, hitting his head on the hard floor.

Legolas could not take it anymore and the longest laugh in his life. When he was finished he felt like he would die of suffocation, but finally got his laughter under control. He looks over at the Human and notices that he was neither laughing with him nor looks like he is about to kill Legolas, in fact Aragron was not reacting at all.

It was then that Legolas realized Aragorn was knocked out cold.           

TBC…

Please review. This is my first fanfic so be gentle. Will get darker in later chapters.      


	2. Leaving for the Trip

Leaving for the Trip

Disclaimer: Lord of the Rings and its characters are owned by J. R. R. Tolkein AKA: not me.  

A bucket of cold water and a few ice-filled cloths later, the pair is ready to leave. Elrond waits outside for his foster son and his friend to come out. 

The two come out of the doorway, conversing with each other. "Oh, Arwen", Legolas jokes. "Shut your mouth, Elf", the Human replies in a stern, yet joking tone. In their conversation they had almost not seen Elrond standing at the door, now looking somewhat hurt at this. 

Elrond cleared his throat making the two companions' heads turn to his direction. "Good mourning, Estel." "Ada", Aragorn said in a surprised, "good mourning". He went over and embraced his foster father. When the hug was done, Elrond looks at Legolas, "and good mourning to you, Legolas", nods towards him. "And to you, Lord Elrond", Legolas nods back, slightly bowing. "Why do you have to leave again", Elrond asks. "To make sure the boarders are safe. Haldir wrote a letter saying some of his men saw some orcs near here", replies his foster son. Elrond mentally slaps himself on the forehead. "I remember now", Elrond says, more to himself than anyone else.   

"I'll race you to the gate", Aragorn proposes.  "You're on, Human", answers Legolas.

Elrond shouts towards Legolas, "take care of my son." Legolas dramatically bows, "yes, my Lord." He turns back to finish the race with the Human. "You will not win, filthy Human." "You will have to catch me first, Nancy-boy."

Elrond laughs at their mischief and smiles fondly after them. The pair kicks up dust as they run, their taunts drone out as they disappear into the horizon, until all that is left is the quiet echo swept by the cool breeze.

 Elrond trusts that Legolas will look after his foster son, but he says a little prayer, just in case.

TBC…

Mwwwwwwwahahahahahahahahaha*snort*hahahahahahahahahahah*choke*.

I know, I know, you hate me, don't you? Want to know what happens next, do you? Well, wait for the next chapter to come to find out. 

Pleaaaaaasssssseeeeee review!!! 


	3. The Trip

The Trip

Disclaimer: J. R. R. Tolkein owns all of this stuff. 

Aragorn ran as fast as his two legs could carry him. He glances behind him to see how Legolas is faring. He is about a dozen feet behind, but gaining fast. Aragorn can now see the gate in the far distance. The second he thinks he might win this race, Legolas frolics, yes frolics, ahead of the Human. "Aha", he mocks as he passes Aragorn.

Legolas reaches the gate first, but Aragorn was not far behind. Legolas looks over at his companion; bent over to catch some much needed breath. "I won", Legolas declares. "It was not fair, you are an Elf." "And you a Human, what of it?" The Man made a gesture to forget about it, "let us get on with our mission." The two went onward, to the south.

It has been several hours since the two had set out on their journey, but have not seen one orc since. They both now rest on the green grass. Aragorn smokes his pipe nonchalantly while Legolas looks around nervously. Aragorn notices this, "what troubles you, Mellon Nin (my friend)?" "I sense something. Something dark… and mysterious."  "Hmm", was the only reply that came. "We must press on", Aragorn affirms. He gets up and goes over to help up Legolas. 

Two more hours later, and still no orcs. Aragorn is now about ready to head back home." Legolas, I do not think there are not any orcs ar…" Legolas held up a hand to stop the Human from speaking anymore. "Shh, we are being watched". Aragorn looks all around him to try and spot something or someone, but saw nothing that seemed a threat. "Orcs", the Human questioned in a whisper only the Elf could hear. "No, not orcs, something else". 

Legolas uses his Elvish ear to try to detect any little noise. Then there it was, the unmistakable whistle of an arrow soaring through the air. He turns towards the sound and almost instantly felt a sharp pain in his chest. He looks down to see an arrow protrude out of his chest, having pierced his heart. 

Aragorn turns to his friend and sees an arrow jutting out of his chest. They both lock eyes for a moment, and he sees the pain in the Elf's eyes. He looks up to were the arrow had come from and sees a cloaked figure slink out of behind some bushes on top of a hill. The figure looks Aragorn's way and he gets a good look at the culprit's eyes, not cold nor menacing, but almost warm; it scared him.

Aragorn quickly turn his attention to his wounded comrade. He supports him as he begins to fall and slowly lowers him to the ground. He looks at the wound. Blood is flowing swiftly out of the opening. He puts a hand on Legolas's chest for leverage and the other on the shaft of the arrow. Legolas puts a shaky hand on Aragorn's to stop him. "It is no use the arrow has punctured m-my heart." 

Legolas takes Aragorn's hand form the shaft into his and places them on his own chest. 

"There is some-something I have always wanted to-to tell you", chokes out in an almost inaudible whisper.

Aragorn does not answer, but means in close so that his ear was almost touching Legolas's lips.

"I have… always… loved you."  His grip on Aragorn's hand goes limp; he knows that Legolas is now dead. Aragorn kisses him softly on the cheek. 

He straightens up to a sitting position and shuts Legolas's eyelids. He pulls the limp body into his lap and cradles him, rocking back and forth. That is how he stayed until night came and he slipped into a restless sleep.   

TBC: You hate me now don't you? Please read more as I update to find out what happens next. Please review! 


	4. Delirium

Delirium

Disclaimer: J. R. R. Tolkein owns all of this stuff

/// "Aragorn", the voiced calls. There is a thick fog and Aragorn cannot see, but a few feet in front of him. He tries to pin point the source form where it comes from, but it seems to come from all around him. Then, in front of his very eyes the fog parts and out walks Legolas. He was shrouded in a white robe and seems to be glowing. He smiles at Aragorn and almost glides towards him. Legolas stops just a few paces away from him. They look into each other's eyes. They do not say a word for a while; they just stare at each other. 

Then Legolas circles around the Human, almost examining him. Once he reaches the front of Aragorn again he places a hand on his shoulder. Aragorn lowers he head, not wanting to look into the other one's eyes.  Legolas uses his other hand to cup Aragorn's chin. He lifts his face up so that the Human was looking into his eyes. A single teardrop rolls down his cheek. Legolas wipes it away with his thumb. He leans in close to his ear. Aragorn can feel the Elf's soft lips brush against his ear as he begins to speak. "I will always be with you." ///

Aragorn wakes up from his sleep, at first not remembering what had happened. It is now night and the only source of light is the low hanging full moon. He looks down at the lifeless body in his lap. Hoping this was all just a joke and Legolas will wake any second and they will have a good laugh about it later, but this was real. Legolas was dead. 

Aragorn sets the Elf's head carefully on the grass and walks a couple paces away. He kneels down at begins the claw at the dirt with his hands. Once he has a fairly good-sized hole he strides over to the body and picks it up. He sets it down in the hole and buries it. He finds a large stone nearby and chisels the name "Legolas" it to it. He sets it at the head of the "grave". Aragorn recites an Evish prayer. 

Aragorn, now in a state of delirium walks through a forested area. He does not know where he is nor even the direction he is heading towards. It has been almost four hours since he buried Legolas and had decided to take a walk to clear his mind. 

He increases his speed as he goes. Faster and faster he goes, until he is at a dead sprint. He does not now where he is heading and his feet are burning with exhaustion. He stumbles over a tree root, but does not fall. He tried to get away from the voices in his head. "I love you", Legolas's voice echos in his mind. 

Sweat pouring from his face, Aragron pants as stress and exhaustion begins to take over his body. He stumbles on a pebble and careens down a steep hill. Too tired to stop his tumble, Aragorn rolls down the slope. He lets out a yelp as he wenches his ankle on his way down. 

He lands with a sickening thud on his stomach, a good twenty feet below. He lays there, too tired to move. "This is the end", Aragorn thinks to himself, "I will see you soon, my love". 

His last conscious thing Aragorn remembers is strong hands picking him up, before he black out from the pain and exhaustion. 

TBC…

You know the drill… stay tuned for the next chapter to see what happens to Aragorn. And remember, please review. 


	5. Saved

Saved

Disclaimer: J. R. R. Tolkein owns everything here.

Aragorn woke up from his rest. He looked around him; he was not back home in Rivendell, but instead in some sort of hut or cabin. He looks around some more and notices the only light is coming from a fire in the fireplace across the room. He also sees a woman, middle-aged, yet still beautiful, with her back to him. Her hair is a dark brown and pulled into a tight bun. She turns around and sees that he has awoken. 

"So you are finally awake I see."

He was still groggy from just having woken up and can only manage a groan in reply. He happens to look down at himself and sees that he has a splint on his right leg and is now completely naked, save a strategically placed sheet. He hurriedly pulls the covers up to his chin.

The woman laughs at this. "I had to undress you in order to put the splint on and to see if you had any other injures."  She walks over to the bed Aragorn was laying in. "You are lucky that Kaywin was out in that area." 

"That I am. I do not mean to be rude, but what happened and where am I?"

"My name is Helena and you are in the home of Kaywin. He is the one who had found you and brought you here, I have been taking care of you since. That is all I can tell you, I am afraid. We are a peaceful people and do not like many visitors"  

"My name is Aragorn, son of Arathorn."  "Well, Aragorn, son of Arathorn, you are in good hands here."

Helena walks over to the dresser by the bedroom door and takes out a pair of clean clothes. She puts them on the bed. "You should get dressed, dinner will be ready in a couple of minutes. The kitchen is to your left, all the way down the hall and I made you some crutches so you can walk ", she tells Aragorn and leaves the room. 

Once Aragorn got the clothes on he grabs the crutches and heads down the hall, towards the kitchen. The aroma of food cooking fills the hallway as he walks down it. When he reaches the kitchen he sees a wooden table close to some sort of fireplace, which is where Aragorn assumes is where the food is cooked. 

At the table sits a young boy. He looks about fourteen or fifteen, chin-length; curly black hair always seems to fall into his face. He has a hardened look to him and Aragorn has an uneasy feeling about him.

Aragorn sits down on a chair across from the boy. "What is your name, young man?" The boy does not reply at first, just picks at the wooden splinters on the table. After a while he looks up at Aragorn and mumbles, "Adrowin." "Well, Adrowin, I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn." Adrowin does not say anything else and continues to pick at the table. Aragorn clears his throat and speaks again, "your mother seems to be very nice." The young boy scoffs at him and replies, "she is not my mother." "What do you mean", Aragorn inquires. "My mother's dead", Adrowin states matter-of-factly, "Helena just helps around the house." 

Just then the front door opens up and a man walks in. He puts the bow he was carrying against the wall by the door and takes off his hood. He is around the age of thirty-five Aragorn reasoned, but his weathered features made him look much older. 

Aragorn gets up and shakes the man's hand. "My name is Aragorn, son of Arathorn, and I thank you for taking me into your home and taking care of my." A smile cracks the other man's face, "I am Kaywin and no thanks is needed I am happy to help." 

Kaywin scruffs up Adrowin's hair as he walks by and sits in the chair next to his son. 

Helena walks up to the table with two plates. She puts one in front of Aragorn and the other in front of Adrowin. She comes back a moment later with two more plates. She sets one in front of Kaywin and sets the other in front of the empty chair next to Aragorn, and sits down on the chair. 

The meal was very good and after Aragorn was finished he was stuffed. "That a good meal, Helena", he tells her as she gathers up the plates to be washed. "Thank you, Aragorn, it is one of Kaywin's favorites." He looks at the three people around him, "I could get used to this", Aragorn thinks to himself. He had to admit he was growing fond of his new "family". So much so that he almost forgot about Legolas. Almost.    

TBC…

Like always, stayed tuned if you want to know what happens next. And please review. Keep in mind this is my first fanfic!   


	6. Alone, Or Maybe Not

Alone, Or Maybe Not

Disclaimer: Tolkein owns all of this, except Helena, Adrowin, and Kaywin; I made them myself.

Aragorn sat on his bed in a long nightshirt, thinking about Legolas and the day he had died. It has now been almost three days since it happened, but his friend's face at that exact moment when he knew he die is now etched in his mind forever. 

Everyone had gone to sleep hours ago, but not Aragorn. He could not sleep, wondering if he could have done something and maybe his friend will still be alive today. He sigh a wipes away some fallen tears. He looks up and sees Adrowin standing in the doorway. 

"What is it you want", Aragorn asks. The boy looks down at the floor for a moment then looks back up at Aragorn. "Uh, I was wondering if I could speak with you." Aragorn cocks his head to the side a little, "what about?" Aragorn shifts so he is sitting on the edge of the bed. "Well", Asrowin begins, "will you tell me about your life, I mean before we found you." Aragorn pats on the bed for the young boy to sit next to him, Adrowin jumps up onto the bed and looks up at Aragorn. 

"Well", Aragorn begins, "I live in Rivendell…"

"You live in Rivendell?" Aragorn nods. "You mean you live with Elves?" Aragorn nods again. "What are they like?"

Aragorn thinks hard to answer this question. "They are beautiful. Graceful. Ageless." Aragorn's brow creases, "yet sad and mournful." 

"Do you have any family back in Rivendell?" Aragorn thinks fondly back to his home, and his family. "Yes, a father and two twin brothers." Then Aragorn thinks of Arwen. "And Arwen." "Who is Arwen", the boy asks. "She is my wife", Aragorn answers. Then he remembers Legolas. Fresh tears fall from his eyes. 

"Why do you cry?" Aragorn looks down at the young boy, really almost a man now, and tries to keep his emotions intact. "Before you said you lost someone you loved", Adrowin nods, "I too have lost a loved one." 

Aragorn closed his eyes as if trying to remember Legolas's face, but he would not need to for his face was forever etched in Aragorn's mind. "His name as Legolas, he was an Elf." "At first we hated each other", Aragorn laughs. "But then I fell in love with him. For the sake of our newfound friendship I told him nothing of it. Then I met Arwen we vowed to spend our lives together forever. Do not get me wrong I love Arwen very much, but there was that feeling I had for Legolas. I never thought he would ever feel the same about me."

"Then", Aragorn continues, " we were sent on a mission to protect the boarders of Rivendell from an army of orcs." Aragorn looks down at the floor and rubs his sore eyes. "It was then that I was to tell him my feelings about him." "What happened", inquires Adrowin. Aragorn heaves a sigh, "he was killed, by an archer. As he died he had told me that he had always loved me. He died before I had a chance to tell him I loved him too."

Adrowin looks sadly at Aragorn, "when my mother died I was only two. Father says it was Elves who did it. He said that a group of Elfish hunters were tracking down a group of thief. They had tracked him near our old house. Back when I was young my family lived in a nearby village. My mother was out picking berries for us to eat later that day, then the thief and the group of Elves following them showed up. One of the thieves put my mother in front of him as a shield. One of the Elves shot anyway, killing my mother and the thief. My father moved us away, he says it is to protect me."

The two just sit there for a while, and then Adrowin decides to go back to bed. Aragorn lies down on the bed, all the while thinking of Legolas. 

TBC… 

Hope you enjoyed! Please review!


	7. The Truth Revealed

The Truth Revealed

Disclaimer: J.R.R. Tolkein owns this stuff

It is now day, and Aragorn is dressing in the room that Kaywin had provided for him. It had been almost a month now since Kaywin rescued him, and several weeks since Adrowin and he had their little talk. His ankle is healing quite well, but is still tender to the touch. He is sure it will be healed enough for him to maybe leave for Rivendell in a week or so. The Man has just gotten his shirt on when there is a soft knock at the door.

"Who is it?"

"It is I, sir, Adrowin", a voice came from behind the door. "Come in", Aragorn says. The door opens slowly and Adrowin walks in. 

After a while and Adrowin does not say a word, Aragorn inquires, "What is it that you want?" 

Adrowin looks down at the floor and shuffles his feet. "You remember the talk we had a while ago?" Aragorn nods, "what of it?" When Adrowin does not answer his question, Aragorn kneels before the boy as to not seem threatening, "Adrowin, what do you know? Do you know who killed Legolas?" 

Addrowin looks into Aragorn's eyes and nods. "Who is it", Aragorn asks. The boy shakes his head and looks back to the floor. Aragorn takes his chin into his cupped hand and raises his head.    

"Please", Aragorn says, eyes pleading. 

Adrowin swallows hard, "remember I told you my father is a hunter?" Aragorn nods. Adrowin continues, "Well, he does not hunt animals." 

Aragorn gives the young man a bewildered look. 

Adrowin clarifies, "he hunts people, Elves mostly." Aragorn knows where this conversation is going to go now.

Adrowin licks his dry lips and continues, "ever since mother's death he has had a hatred for Elves, and I fear he killed your lover that night."

"Why did you not tell me this earlier."

"I was afraid you would do something to him. I so not like the things he does, but he still is my father."   

"It is all right, young one", Aragorn reassures.

Aragorn straightens back up and turns away so his back is to the young male.

Adrowin speaks up again, "And I fear he may kill you soon too." Aragorn looks down and curses in Elvish. 

"Sir, if I may suggest, I think you should head to Rivendell as soon as you can." 

Adrowin leaves Aragorn's room. He returns a moment later with a light brown sack. "Here use this, it is mine, but you can keep it." He hands the sack to Aragorn, who takes it and begins to stuff some clothes, a hunting knife he had brought on the trip, and other things. 

Adrowin leaves the room again and returns with a couple of loafs of bread. 

"Here take these."

Aragorn takes the loafs and slings the sack over his shoulder. He places a hand on the boy's shoulder, "come with me to Rivendell. You can meet the Elves." Adrowin does not have time to answer, for the sound of the front door opening is heard.

They both look towards that direction.

Adrowin speaks up, "father is home."   

TBC…

Hope you still enjoy this story. Stay tuned to see if Aragorn makes it back home or not. Remember to review this story please. And before I forget, thank you to everyone who has review this story; I appreciate it a lot!


	8. Escaping

Escaping

Disclaimer: JRR Tolkein owns all of this stuff.

Adrowin turns back to Aragorn. "Go through the window", he points to the bedroom window across the room, "I will try to distract him as long as I can." 

Aragorn tries to argue with him, but the boy urges him on, "go!" 

Aragorn moves to the window and tosses the sack out the window and soon leaps out himself. He lands softly on the grassy ground and stays crouched as he grabs his sack and creeps into the nearby woods. 

Adrowin opens the quest bedroom door just as Kaywin was reaching to open it. "Hello father, glad to see you back home", he greets his father. Kaywin can sense that his son is hiding something from him.  

"What are you hiding son", Kaywin says, looking his son straight in the eye.  "Nothing, sir, nothing", his son replies. "You lie", the man says through gritted teeth. He bends down and forcefully takes a hold of Adrowin's shoulders. "Tell me, where is the Man?" Adrowin does not answer. "Tell me", now he begins to shake his son. 

Adrowin shakes his head, "no, father. I will not let you hurt him. He is my friend." "Wrong answer, boy", Kaywin says as he shoves the boy back into the bedroom. He slides a couple feet on the floor. Once he stops he stays down, too afraid that if he gets up his father will hurt him worse. 

Kaywin heads back down the hall, but is stopped by Helena. She had heard the commotion from outside and came in to see what was going on. She stands in front of Kaywin to black him from leaving the house. "If you were you, Helena, I would get out of the way", Kaywin threatens. "No", Helena stands firmly in place, "I will not let you hurt that nice young man." 

"I said get out of my way, Woman!" he slaps her hard on the cheek. She lets out a cry of pain and falls to the floor. She holds her hurt cheek with her hand as she watches Kaywin walk past to the front door. 

Adrowin, having gotten up and heading down the hall, witnessed all of this take place. Newly fueled by hate he walks faster towards the front door that his father exited from.

Aragorn is watching the front door, not wanting to leave the two alone with Kaywin, but too nervous to face the man by himself.  He sees the front door swing open and Kaywin comee out. Shortly behind him Adrowin comes out and charges towards his father. 

Kaywin is caught by surprise and Adrowin uses that to his advantage. He jumps onto his father's back. The man spins around, trying to get the boy off of his back. He finally gets a hold of the back of Adrowin's shirt and tugs on it so that it flips the boy over his head and onto the ground. The young man lands hard on the dirt path. The wind is knocked out of him as he lands on his back. Kaywin looms over his son's body, looking ready to strike at any moment. 

Aragorn, not wanting to let Kaywin hurt Adrowin any further, grabs his hunting knife from the sack and runs towards the man. He tackles him to the ground and holds a knife to his throat. 

TBC…

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story so far.


	9. What Now?

What Now?

Disclaimer: JRR Tolkein owns all of this stuff.

Aragorn kneels on Kaywin's torso as he holds a knife to his throat. Aragorn is looking into the other man's eyes. "Go ahead, kill me", the man underneath says in a firm voice, but Aragorn can see the fear in his eyes. 

Aragorn grips the knife tighter and his knuckles turn white. He is breathing deeply through his nose and sweat drips from his forehead as he tries to decide what to do with the other man. He wants to kill the man so much for killing the man he loved, but he also reasons that killing him will not bring back Legolas. 

Finally having decided what to do, Aragorn closes his eyes for a second to contemplate his decision. He is going to let the other man go; he was not going to stoop down to his level just for revenge. He gets up and grabs Kaywin by the collar. He roughly pulls him up from the ground.

"Go on, get out of here", Aragorn says as he shoves the other man back. Kaywin stumbles on his own feet, and falls to the ground. He sits there, stunned for a while.

Aragorn turns to Adrowin, now sitting on the ground, still trying to catch his breath. His knees are hugged tightly to his chest, staring at the ground. 

"Are you alright", Aragorn asks the young man. He nods, but does not look up right away. After a while he does finally look up at Aragorn, tears now forming in his young eyes. The young man's brown eyes meet the older man's gray eyes. There is a sense of understanding between the both of them. 

Then, Adrowin glances behind Aragorn and notices his father sneaking up behind the man. He has a small dagger raised, which he had hidden in one of his boots, to strike Aragorn in the back.    

"Look out behind you!" Aragorn turns around to see Kaywin only a foot away with a tiny dagger pointed at him. As Kaywin lowers the dagger to stab him, Aragorn grabs the other man's wrist and tries to hold it back as best he can. Kaywin, meanwhile, tries with all his effort to plunge his dagger into Aragorn's chest. 

Finally, out of desperation, Kaywin kicks Aragorn's injured ankle. Aragorn lets of a holler of pain. He punches Kaywin in the jaw, knocking him out cold. He lays in the dirt, spread-eagle. Aragorn limps over to where Adrowin is sitting on the ground and carefully sits down next to him, extending his tender ankle. He sighs as he eases down.

"Some day, huh?" they both laugh at Aragron's comment, though they are not sure why, it felt good. At that moment Helena walks out of the house. Her cheek is red where Kaywin struck her and a bruise will surely form soon. She walks over to where the others are and kneels by them.   

"So, what are we going to do now?" "That is a very good question", Aragorn thinks to himself. 

TBC…

I'm sorry these chapters are so short. Please continue to read and review this story. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story so far and to those who will in the future!!!


	10. The Journey Home Pt1

The Journey Home

Disclaimer: J.R.R. Tolkein owns all this stuff. 

Notes: I made this chapter longer and changed the format a little.  This is long so I'll split them up into different parts.

Aragorn sits on the ground, thinking what they should do next. Beside him sits Adrowin knees drawn to his chest, rocking back and forth. Helena is kneeling behind the two of them, also thinking of what to do. Aragron finally has an idea.

"Come with me to Rivendell", he proposes. Adrowin's eyes light up at the thought of getting the chance to see Elves for the first time in his life, he turns to Helena. "Oh can we, Helena", he asks her. 

"I do not know", Helena replies reluctantly, "this is our home, I do not want to leave it." 

"There is no other choice. There is no telling what Kaywin will do to you or Adrowin for helping me. Also I may not last long with this ankle", Aragorn tells her. Helena sighs, contemplating what she should decide. 

"Okay, me and Adrowin will accompany you to Rivendell." Aragorn smiles and thinks of what Elrond and his brothers will think of Helena and Adrowin. 

Adrowin gets up from the ground and goes over to carefully help Aragorn get up. He extends a hand and pulls the older man up from the ground. He moves to the side of Aragorn's hurt ankle and Aragorn drapes an arm around his neck. Since Adrowin is almost Aragorn's height already he easily supports him as he wraps one arm around Aragorn's waist and the other holds onto his wrist. 

Helena gets up and goes inside the house quickly to grab two more sacks and fills them with Adrowin and her clothes and some food. She quickly walks out of the house to meet up with the others.

Helena gives Adrowin his sack, which he places around his shoulder. Helena goes over and grabs Aragorn's sack. It was not heavy, so it is not a problem for her to carry both Aragorn's and her sack at the same time. 

The three of them head off into the direction of Rivendell. They leave the still comatose Kaywin on the ground. 

[One hour later…]

The group decides to rest for a while and try to make a splint for Aragorn's leg. Aragorn leands against a fallen log with his hurt leg extended. Adrowin decides to go out and try to find two twigs. "They have to be straight and roughly the same length", Helena tells him as he heads to a small nearby wooded area. 

Once he had left, Helena tries to think of what could be used to secure the twigs to Aragorn's leg. "Now what can I use to hold them in place. Think. Think…", she thinks out loud.

"I have an old shirt in my sack you can rip into strips". Helena did not realize that Aragorn had heard her and jumps slightly. 

"I am sorry if I frightened you, ma'am."

Helena settles down, "that is alright, I have been a little jumpy lately." She rummages through Aragorn's sack and pulls out an old shirt of his. She tore three long strips from it and puts the rest back into the sack. 

Adrowin returns shortly with two long, straight, and rather thick sticks. 

"These will be perfect", Helena states as she glances at the sticks. She takes them from Adrowin.  

Both Helena and Adrowin kneel close to Aragorn's injured ankle.

"Now, hold Aragorn's leg down so that it does not move", Helena tells Adrowin. He does so. She places the sticks on either side of Aragorn's leg from his ankle to just the top of his knee; the perfect size. She takes one of the strips and ties it as genteelly as she could above his ankle, but he slightly winces in pain. 

Helena stops and looks concernedly at him. "I am alright", he reassures her and she continues to work on him. 

Helena double-knots the strip. She then places one just below his knee. The third she ties in the middle of the previous two.

They decided to rest for the rest of the day and continue the journey in the mourning. 

Aragorn digs out his torn shirt from the sack and uses it as a pillow. He rolls it up into a ball and puts it on the fallen log, placing his head on top of it. He rests his hands on his chest and closes his eyes. Sighing, he closes his eyes he thinks of Legolas and what may have been. 

Adrowin lies on the grassy ground a couple of feet from Aragorn. He does not mind sleeping on the ground. He is on his back with his hands under his head. He looks up at the stars for a long while before weariness takes hold of him and he finally closes his eyes. His last thought was that of his father and his relationship with him. His father had never given him much attention and when he did it was to usually yell at him. 

Helena takes out the only bedroll they have between the three of them and spreads it out on the ground close to Adrowin. She lies down on her side. She looks over at Adrowin caringly. Although Adrowin was not her own flesh and blood, she felt as though he was her own son. She had never told anyone that she could never have a child of her own. A single tear falls down her cheek.

They all fell asleep thinking about their troubled pasts and their unpredictable future.  

TBC…

Hope you liked this one. Thanks for the reviews!! Sorry I don't have a lot of dialogue in this one.                     


	11. The Journey Home Pt2

The Journey Home Pt2

Disclaimer: J.R.R. Tolkein owns all of this stuff.

It is mid-day and Adrowin and Aragorn are standing in a clearing by a wooded area. Adrowin is holding Aragorn's bow with an arrow notched, with the older man standing behind him, helping him hold the string back.  

"Okay, now I will let go and you keep the bow level and when you think it is on target let go, okay", Aragorn instructs the young boy. He nods in response. 

Adrowin closes one eye and tilts his head closer to the bow. Aragorn slowly lets go of his hold of the bow to make sure that Adrowin had a good grip on it. He then hobbles back a little and watches how the younger man does. 

Adrowin's hands shake, but he keeps the bow relatively still. When he thinks he has the target, a tree several dozen feet away, locked on he lets the arrow go. It sails through the air high, but not very far. It imbeds itself in the grass a few feet away from the target.

Adrowin sighs and looks down at the ground sadly. 

"I'll never be as good as you, Aragorn."

Aragorn limps over to Adrowin to encourage him a little. "Now, you don't think I became a Ranger over night, do you?"

Adrowin shook his head.

 "Like everything else in life, it only takes practice. I have a feeling about you. You might make a fine Ranger one of these days."

Adrowin smiles up at Aragorn, "I will keep trying." 

[One week later…]

The whole week has been pretty uneventful. It is now night. The only light is the low hanging moon. Our three adventurers rest, if not restlessly, on the soft grass. 

Aragorn taught Adrowin how to use his bow everyday, sometimes even more than once a day. He needs more practice, but he is getting better at it. Adrowin seems to have taken Aragorn as sort of a "foster father" and is spending a lot of time with him. 

All three stir in their sleep. It has been a long journey and Aragorn is sure they are at least half way to Rivendell by now.

Aragorn shifts in his sleep one more time.

[Aragorn's dream…]

/// Aragorn is in an open field. It seems familiar. Then he hears Legolas's voice. He's about to yell out his name, when he hears his own voice. His heart sinks, he's replaying in his mind the day Legolas, _his_ Legolas, was killed. He shut his eyes and a tear streaks down his cheek. He wipes it away and quickly runs, or rather limps, towards the voices.

Aragorn stops behind a large tree and crouches down. Moments later he sees Legolas and himself come up a hill. They stop suddenly and Legolas looks around suspiciously. "Orcs", Aragorn asks.

A chill runs up Aragorn's back when he hears himself speak. It all plays out in slow motion right before his eyes. As the arrow whizzes through the air Aragorn wants to jump up and yell out Legolas's name, but his legs don't want to seem to want to move. He watches as the arrow imbeds itself in Legolas's chest. 

Aragorn can't take it anymore and collapses against the tree. He sobs into his hands. He nearly jumps out of his skin when he feels a hand on his shoulder. He looks up and once again sees Legolas's beautiful face. He jumps up and nearly topples the Elf over. He wraps his arms around the Elf's neck and kisses him on the cheek. 

Legolas chuckles at the human, "it's nice to see you too, my love." He gestures for Aragorn to sit down, which he does so, and sits next to the Human. They both turn to each other and hold one another's hands.

Aragorn raises his hand to Legolas's cheek and strokes it. "I thought I'd never see you again." Another tear falls from his eye. Legolas wipes it away.

"I will always be with you. I am always right here", he places his hand over Aragorn's heart. 

"You have to promise me something", Legolas adds.

"What, I'll do anything for you?"

"You have to promise me you will not forget Arwen. Do not let my death be the end of what you and Arwen might share. I hate to see you like this. Promise me when you get to Rivendell you will hug her like you have never hugged her before and tell her you love her. Have a family with her and love her till your dying days."

"I will, I will. I promise I will." Aragorn pulls Legolas into a hug and cries into his shoulder. ///

Aragorn is jolted awake by the snap of a twig. He looks around, trying to see in the darkness. He hears a low growl coming from behind some nearby bushes. He turns to see a wolf leap from behind the bushes. It's a good seven feet. Its gray fur stands on end as it arches its back, ready to pounce on Aragorn any second. 

Aragorn tries to stand up, but the sharp pain that shoots up his leg reminds him of his injury. He falls to the ground with a yelp.

Adrowin hears the commotion and slowly wakes up and rubs the sleep out of his eyes. He looks over at Aragorn's sleeping spot and spots Aragorn trying to back up from an advancing wolf. He also sees that Aragorn is now backed up to a tree and has very little time left. Adrowin spots Aragorn's bow and arrows. He takes the bow and an arrow and goes to a good vantage point. 

Adrowin notches the arrow and aims for the wolf's midsection. Sweat drips from his forehead as he tries to keep his hands still. He closes his eyes and lets the arrow go. He prays to whatever gods were listening that the arrow would hit its target.

TBC…

No I'm not dead or in a coma. Sorry for the long wait. Hope you enjoyed this one. Please continue to review!!        


	12. The Journey Home Pt3

The Journey Home Pt3

Disclaimer: you pretty much know the drill by now, J.R.R. Tolkein owns all of this stuff.

As Adrowin lets the arrow go, he opens one eye to see if it hits its target. It misses its mark, but does hit the wolf's left rear leg. On impact the creature lets out a shrill cry and turns its head towards Adrowin. 

Adrowin stares at the wolf wide-eyed, not knowing what to do next. The beast slowly walks over to where the boy is standing. It lowers its body closer to the ground, ready to pounce on him any given second. The boy doesn't know what to do, so he starts to slowly walk backwards. 

The wolf's pace quickens ever so slightly and Adrowin's mimics its speed. Not looking behind him Adrowin trips over a root and drops the bow in the process. Now he begins to crawl from the advancing foe. Once the wolf reaches the root it puts its front paws on it, ready to use it as leverage to help it jump further.

Adrowin curls up into a ball to protect vital body parts and to protect his head. He braces for the attack, but it doesn't come. Then there is the sound of a loud clank and a proceeding thud. He relaxes a bit and looks to where the wolf was and he sees Helena standing over an unconscious wolf with a frying pan in her hand.

"Are you okay, Adrowin?"

The boy nods in reply. 

Helena goes over and helps up Aragorn. Adrowin gets up on his own. 

"We might as well keep heading on. We might make it to Rivendell by morning", Aragorn replies. The others agree and the three continue towards Rivendell.

[Several hours later…]

The sun is just peaking over the horizon, creating a beautiful reddish sky. The trio head up a hill. Adrowin is supporting Aragorn. At the peak they stop. There it stands before their very eyes: the kingdom of Rivendell. 

"It 'tis more beautiful than I had imagined", Adrowin gasps.

They continue down the hill toward the city. 

Within minutes they reach the gates.  Many elves are waiting for Legolas and Aragorn's arrival. Once the trio enters Rivendell elves crowd them, asking where he has been, where Legolas is, and who the strangers are. Aragorn pays no heed to their questions. 

He pushes through the crowd to find Arwen. After making his way through dozens of elves he sees Arwen and their eyes meet. She runs into his arms and hugs him as tight as possible. They part and Aragron brushes a strand of Arwen's hair out of her eyes. 

"You are more beautiful than I remembered."

She just smiles up at her lover. She lowers her head to his chest and closes her eyes. Her head moving with his rhythmic breathes. He closes his eyes too and kisses her softly on the top of her head. 

They just stand there, not concerned with what's going on around them. At this moment Aragorn remembers his promise to Legolas and he opens his eyes. 

In the crowd Aragorn swears he sees Legolas walking. Their eyes meet for a split second and he smiles at the Human. Aragorn closes his eyes and shakes his head. When he opens his eyes again, Legolas is gone. 

TBC…

Sorry this is so short. I'm thinking the next chapter will be the last. Remember to continue to review! And thanks to everyone who has taken their time to read my story!!      


	13. Epilogue

Epilogue

Disclaimer: J. R. R. Tolkein owns all of this stuff.

A large table is set extravagantly. The first person to enter the dinning room is Aragorn. He is wearing a robe he borrowed from his father and his hair is slicked back. Next Arwen walks in and the two of them embraces. 

"Did you go see the healer about your ankle", Arwen asks.

Aragorn nods.

The sounds of footsteps jar them back to reality. Elrond enters the room. They both smile at him. 

"Take a seat", Elrond gestures for the other two to sit down. 

Soon after the three sit down Ellandan and Elrohir enter and take their seats.

Finally, Helena and Adrowin enter. Helena is wearing a flowing light blue dress Arwen loaned to her. Adrowin is wearing an over-sized robe that loosely hangs off his body. Once everyone is seating, several maids enter with plates of food and pitchers of wine. 

When all of the plates have been placed and all the wine has been poured Elrond raises his glass for a toast. The others raise their glasses too. 

"To new friends", Elrond nods towards Helena and Adrowin, "and new beginnings."

"And to old memories", Aragorn adds. Everyone takes a drink of their wine and proceed to eat. The dinner went without a hitch. They all converse through the dinner, talking about old times and what has happened lately. Their laughter and conversations catch in the cool evening air and drift off into the sky until they are nothing but a memory. 

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

A party of Elves, along with Aragorn, found Legolas's body and takes it back to Rivendell. He was then buried near the entrance to Rivendell.

Adrowin did indeed become a Ranger, a very good one at that. He fought many battles along side Aragorn. Sadly he was slain in battle at the age of twenty-four. His body was buried next to Legolas's. 

Helena lived a long life, nearly to the age of eighty. She served Elrond and his family the rest of her life. After Adrowin's death, she continued to work for Elrond and took care of Aragorn and Arwen's children.

No one ever heard anything more of Kaywin. Rumors began to spread of a wild man living in the woods near her old home, but Helena paid no heed to them.

Aragorn continued to love Arwen till his dying days. She bore him several daughters and a son. Though he never saw Legolas again, he never forgot about him and the promise he made to the Elf. 


End file.
